Combination eyeliner and false eyelash



J1me 1969 M CULLOUGH COMBINATION EYELINER AND FALSE EYELASH Filed May 5,1968 FlG.lb

FIG. la

INVENTOR. 15mm EL McCULLOUGH ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,447,542COMBINATION EYELINER AND FALSE EYELASH Ishmael McCullough, 235 E. 57thSt., New York, NY. 10022 Filed May 3, 1968, Ser. No. 726,313 Int. (:1.A41g /02 US. Cl. 13253 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Strips ofpaper-thin leather of the order of 5 to 40 thousandths of an inchthickness are die-cut into arcuateshaped liners. The false eyelashes arethen permanently bonded to the liners, using a flexible nontoxic glueand employing a semicircular cone frustum as a mold.

Background of the invention Current styling trends have for some timesuggested the enhancement of a womans appearance by the addition offalse eyelashes aflixed to the upper eyelids. In the process color orliner is first applied to the eyelid portions adjacent the intended lineof contact. The false eyelash, which consists of hairs or hair-likefibers tied on a central thread of silk, nylon or cotton, is thenapplied to the lid with a non-toxic glue. Following the application ofthe lash, eyeliner touchup is generally necessary.

The foregoing process has many drawbacks. The colored liner will rununder some conditions (for example upon tearing of the eye) producingadverse effects on the eyes themselves and completely obviating theaesthetic appearance of the makeup. Because they are limp and flexiblefalse eyelashes are difficult to apply artistically in a manner whichwill ensure their proper retention in an appropriate position withrelation to the natural eyelashes. The application of the correct amountof glue to the small central thread is extremely tedious, and theremoval of the eye makeup is often as time consuming as the process ofapplication.

In order to ameliorate the foregoing many attempts have been made tocombine an eyeliner with a false eye lash (hereinafter liner-lash) insuch a manner that facilitates the application and removal of the eyemakeup. Such attempts, however, have met with little if any commercialsuccess. The principal drawbacks of the heretofore suggested permanentliner-lash combinations have been their inflexibility, stiffness andheaviness on the lid. These characteristics cause not only a degree ofdiscomfort but also the popping loose of the liner at the corners of theeye.

Objects of invention Accordingly it is the object of this invention toprovide a combination eyeliner and false eyelash, capable of easyapplication and removal and sufficiently flexible to ride with and hugthe eyelid, adjacent the natural eyelash, during the period of its use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a combinationliner-lash in which the eyeliner is capable of assuming a wide varietyof forms to meet the aesthetic taste and eyelid form of the particularuser.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a method forthe manufacture of the liner-lash combination of the invention whichenhances the desirable qualities delineated above.

Summary of invention Briefly the invention is predicated upon aneyeliner which is cut from an ultra thin web of flexible leather, andwhich is permanently aflixed to the eyelash with a flexible nontoxicglue.

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It is a feature of this invention that the liner is cut into an arcuateshape and bonded to the false eyelash on a mold which gives thecombination a flexible permanent set, facilitating the application andwearing of the linerlash combination.

The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention andthe manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the inventionitself will best be understood by reference to the following descriptionof embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, the description of which follows.

Description of figures FIGS. la and lb are front and back views,respectively, of the liner-lash combination of the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional arrangement for forming falseeyelashes.

FIG. 3 illustrates the method of die-cutting the eyeliners according tothe invention.

FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate the liner-lash bonding method according tothe invention.

Detailed description of the invention After a great deal ofinvestigation it has been learned that the numerous proposed syntheticmaterials all have one or more disadvantages which preclude their use asan eyeliner. Quite unexpectedly leather, it has been found, can beshaved to a thickness possessing most if not all the attributesgenerally desired for the eyeliner. It is extremely flexible, strong,capable of taking and holding color as well as glue, and is nontoxic anddurable. Further, leather of the preferred thickness (to be described)has been found to withstand tension without tearing and compressionwithout bulging or folding.

To prepare the liner the finest quality cabretta skins (also known ashair sheep) are given a combination glove tannage employing dyes thathave a nontoxic effect. The dye may be of any color selected foraesthetic reasons. The softest and most pliable skins are selected andstrips are taken lengthwise of the hide. The heavier center-backsections and the stiff inflexible flanks have been generally found to beunsuitable. All imperfections are cut away and the skins cut into narrowstrips, approximately oneand one-half inches wide. The ends of thestrips are then scarfed or bevelled and joined together with a vinylbased glue to make a continuous length.

The leather web is then subjected to a skiving process where it isthinned or shaved to a desired thickness. The precise thickness must bedetermined empirically and depends upon the softness of the leather.Preferably the final product will have the thickness of between 5 and 40Y thousandths of an inch. By joining the strips prior to skiving it hasbeen found that the thickness tolerance may be closely maintained and isnot subject to as much variation as when individual strips areprocessed.

Referring to FIG. 3 this paper-thin leather web 12 is then coiled on aroll 14 along with a backing 16 of impregnated paper for a purpose to bedescribed. The coiled leather web and paper back is run across a bed 15and projected onto a takeup spool or reel 18. Jig 17 contains aplurality of dies (not shown) and is reciprocated to the bed 15 withsuflicient pressure for each die to penetrate the juxtaposed leatherportion up to but not through the paper back to form the arcuate shapedliners 13.

It has been found that by employing a material having a. hardness muchgreater than that of the leather (such as heavy paper), the dies cutthrough the leather cleanly leaving no fuzzy edges. Moreover, the cuteyeliners therebe retain their position on the web to be transported tothe takeup spool where they may be stored, without injury, for lateruse.

As may be seen from FIG. 3, and as will be discussed furtherhereinafter, the individual eyeliners are, according to one embodimentof the invention, of arcuate shape. Although not necessarily circular(they may more nearly approximate a hyperbola or horseshoe) the arcsegment may be roughly defined as having a radius preferably between onequarter of an inch and one inch.

The eyelash is formed in the conventional manner as shown in FIG. 2. Aplurality of hairs or hair-like fibers 19 are tied or hand knotted to acentral thread 23 of silk, nylon or cotton which is maintained tautbetween a pair of binding posts 20 and 22. In the example shown the lashis of the so called wing type with the hairs longer at one end. Onceformed the lash ends are given an upward curl in the conventionalmanner.

The lash 10 is now removably mounted on the mesa slope at the coneportion 42 adjacent the top surface 40. Since the lash central threadtends to be linear this may be accomplished by applying the lash to themesa with any weak quick setting nontoxic glue; the lashes of coursecurling outwardly. Next a liner 13 is lifted from the takeup spool,coated with glue (of a type to be explained) and is overlayed on thelash where it is allowed to remain until the linerlash bond is secured.By using the intersection of the upper mesa surface 40 and slope 42 as aguide the application of liner to lash is easily accomplished and anyexcess glue may be forced to the top where it is easily wiped off.

The adhesive bonding the lash to the liner must be nontoxic, nonsolublein water, and nonsoluble in the conventional glue which will haverepeated applications to the lash side of the liner for adhering thecombination to the eyelid. Further, the adhesive must make a lasting andflexible bond between the liner and eyelash. For this purpose pressuresensitive glues are too weak, and stronger glues such as used to afiixornaments or metals dry stifl causing a lash-liner pop-up or break atthe corners. Adding a plasticizer to the rigid glues has the effect ofweakening the bond. It has been found that a glue employing a copolymervinyl acetate base together with another vinyl material such as vinylchloride, vinyl maleate or vinyl acrylate meets the described functionalrequisites. This glue has no organic solvents and when dry is nontoxic,water resistant, and the bond between leather and lash is extremelystrong and flexible.

Alternatively, to coating the liner with glue the lash 10 may have itscentral thread glue coated or both the liner and lash may be coated forthe permanent bond. In any event once the glue is dry the combinedliner-lash may be peeled from the mesa breaking the bond of the weakglue which merely held the lash in position. The combination of liner,glue and lash is now prestressed or preset to roughly conform to themesa slope as shown on the exaggerated detail of FIG. 4b.

The slope 0 of the conical portion of the mesa may vary between 45 and90 and is dependent upon the liners radius of arc. Generally the smallerthe liner radius, the smaller the angle 9. At the end limit, for astraight liner (infinite radius), 0 could be approximately 90 and themesa would be defined by a section of a cylinder rather than a cone. Atypical construction would be as follows:

Mesa radius R=% inch; liner radius: /2 inch; 0:75". Variation in themesa radius naturally requires changes in 0, the liner radius, or bothas will be apparent from the geometry involved.

In its finished state as shown in FIGS. 1a and lb the lash lies totallyon the eyeliner with the latter extending on either side of the lashpreferably from .05 to .1 inch. The extension (which may even includeoppositely directed arcs) may then be trimmed by the wearer to suit herindividual taste. The liner width is likewise an aesthetic considerationand may vary between to A of an inch.

Where it is desired that the extensions (or even arcuate positions) begiven a different orientation or direction, for example to assume adownward orientation at the eye corners, the cone angle 0 may be variedabout the circumference. This will result in a twist being imparted tothe liner and a prestressing in the desired configuration.

When affixed to the eyelid in the manner conventionally employed inafiixing false eyelashes alone, the inventive liner-lash easily curvesto the shape of the eyelid and will retain that curve resting lightlyand comfortably and flexing with the movement of the eyelid. The huggingof the eyelid is facilitated when the eyelash and liner are prestressedin an arcuate shape which slopes gently in the manner described.

While the principles of the invention have been described in connectionwith specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that thisdescription is made only by way of example and not as a limitation tothe scope of the invention as set forth in the objects thereof and inthe accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A combination eyeliner and false eyelash comprising:

an elongated flexible leather eyeliner having an inner and outer surfaceof a thickness between 5 to 40 thousandths of an inch;

and a false eyelash permanently and flexibly bonded to the inner surfaceof said eyeliner with the lashes substantially perpendicular to theeyeliner length.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1 wherein said eyeliner is ofarcuate shape.

3. The combination claimed in claim 1 wherein the bonded eyeliner andeyelash is set in the shape of a portion of a cone frustum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,812,768 11/1957 Giuliano 132-53,032,042 5/1962 Meehan 1325 3,266,500 8/1966 Weld 13253 3,362,417 1/1968 Glaser 132--5 LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

GREGORY E. MCNEILL, Assistant Examiner.

